The Chicago Tribune Freedom Center gets closer to oblivion with each passing day, just as Bally’s Chicago Casino gets closer to beginning construction. The dramatic demolition scene continues to play out at Halsted Street and Chicago Avenue in West Town, as Brandenburg Industrial Services reduces the former newspaper-printing plant to rubble.
Brandenburg Industrial Services continues work on demolition of the former Chicago Tribune Freedom Center in West Town. With Bally’s Casino and its anticipated 2026 Opening Day coming to the site, there is some urgency to wrapping up demolition so construction can begin. That’s why this building seems to be coming down so quickly.
Demolition of the former Chicago Tribune Freedom Center has begun, in earnest, along the Chicago River in West Town. With Bally’s Casino expected to open in 2026, there’s no time to waste, and Brandenburg Industrial Services has begun tearing into the old printing plant after receiving four demolition permits late last month to begin demo work. There is a lot of equipment on site, with piles of scrap and rubble already waiting to be sorted and hauled away.
Four demolition permits were issued by the City of Chicago Monday for 651 West Chicago Avenue, or what used to be the Chicago Tribune Freedom Center. This is the second phase of demolitions making space for Bally’s Chicago Casino, after a single-story metal building at 700 West Erie was demolished earlier this month. Brandenburg Industrial Services is the demolition contractor for the casino project.
The first demolition to make way for the new Bally’s Chicago Casino has begun along the Chicago River in West Town. The City of Chicago issued a demo permit for 700 West Erie Street on August 2, with Brandenburg Industrial Service Company serving as the demolition contractor. A single-story metal building that was most recently the home of a U-Haul rental facility, it sits on the southwest corner of the development site, at the intersection of Erie and Halsted.
